In recent years, an increasing interest has been taken in molecular devices learnt from excellent structures and functions seen in organisms. Most of vital reactions pertain to physical and chemical processes through which proteins, such as enzymes, or functional coloring matter molecules pass at high efficiency and high selectivity. A lot of researches have been made in order to develop a new molecular device by artificially modeling after such a function.
However, as compared with the today's progress of the researches of organisms themselves such as genome decoding and elucidation of the functions of proteins, few novel molecular devices have appeared which are learnt from the functional principles in organisms. In practice, most of the researches are directed not toward the realization of a molecular device having a function learnt from an organism but toward the studies of a fabrication (orientation, arrangement, laminate film, or the like) which relates to a new device having the function not yet produced but with which the device can possibly be produced.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel metal complex of a heterocyclic aromatic compound which makes it possible to learn from the functional principles of enzymes in organisms and, particularly, to achieve favorable functions as molecular devices in technological fields.